Mother urges vigilance after
car incident

A mother has warned parents to be vigilant after a suspicious incident involving her son on the Garvaghy Road on Sunday, June 15.

The 12-year-old was walking along the road around 4.15 pm, with his uncle close behind him, when a silver car started to slow down alongside the young boy.

His mother explained, “It was going the same speed he was walking, and the driver was giving my son eye contact and was just about to stop when my son’s uncle ran over to the car to quiz the man, who then sped off up the road.

“There is no doubt my son was scared,,, and God only knows what would have happened if his uncle hadn’t been there. I thought other parents should know about it, as the situation at Millington was similar and it seems that that wasn’t a one-off.”

In the Millington incident on Monday, June 9, a mother had just left the primary school with her four-year-old son when a black people carrier appeared. A woman in the car pointed at the child and the vehicle proceeded to pull up alongside him. It drove off when the boy’s mother ran up to it.

A PSNI spokesperson said they had received a report of a suspicious silver Citroen car on Garvaghy Road on June 15.

She said, “A 31-year-old man and 12-year-old boy were walking in the area when they observed a silver Citroen car slow down and stop for a short time before driving on.

“This was not a suspicious approach, as no attempt was made to speak to or approach any person.

“Police welcome reports of suspicious activity and will always take steps to establish the circumstances of each individual incident. Fortunately, in this case, no offences were committed.”

She added, “We understand the public’s fears around child approaches but it is important that these type of incidents are looked at in perspective - approaches to children are thankfully rare.”

She said parents should talk to their children about stranger danger. Advice is available from local police on the 101 non-emergency number.